NEW RATING BILLS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4802, 17 August 1894, Page 3

NEW RATING BILLS.

\ The Bill authorising rating on the J unimproved value of land enables the ratepayers of n district to demand that n proposal to rate property upon the basis of the unimx proved valuo shall be submitted to . tho ratepayers'vote, and that a poll ' shall then be taken in tho same manner as for a special loan. No : similar proposal shall bo submitted to tho vote of the ratepayers for a period of three years from the date of tho first poll; 'lf the .proposal is carried, M local authority shall give effect to tho ratepayers' vote by special order,' A valuation roll of tho district, setting forth, instead of tho capital value, tho gross value, tho value of improvements and the unimproved value, will bo prepared after such special order, and tho rates of such district shall bo levied on the unimproved valuo of land. Objections to assessments may bo made as they arc now made against assessments on the capital vnlue. When this Bill is adopted in any city, borough, county, or road or town district, all rates of the other local bodies, in the same district, except those for water and gas, shall be levied on the unimproved value. The Hating of Crown Lands Bill provides that all Crown Lands, with tho buildings and improvements thereon, shall be rateable under tho Bating Act, except the Parliament and Government Buildings at Wellington ; Government Houses and grounds at Wellingtonand Auckland, lands occupied by public schools, colleges, universities, museums, hospitals or charitable and other public Institutions, public parks, reserves, defence works; Crown lands within the Counties of Kawhia, AVest Taupo, East Taupo, Sounds, Fiord, and Stewart Island, and all tho Crown land, of which there is no owner except the Colonial Treasurer, Crown lands may be rated only on the capital value, to only one-fourth of their value, and shall not be liable toany special rate. The SurveyorGeneral shall be solo judge as to , what Crowu lauds are rateable. < The Government will also introduce a new Bating Bill consolidating tho existing legislation on that subject.—N.Z. Times.